China has confirmed President Xi Jinping’s first visit to India in seven years, travelling to New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12-13.
Xi’s last visit to India was in 2019, for an informal summit with Prime Minister Modi in Mamallapuram, near Chennai.
Diplomatic sources say Modi and Xi are expected to hold bilateral talks on September 12, their first meeting in six years.
Other leaders confirmed for the summit include Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto.
Delhi will see schools, colleges, courts and offices shut in parts of the city on September 11 ahead of the summit.
China’s confirmation of Xi’s attendance ends weeks of diplomatic speculation over whether the Chinese president would travel to India for the summit.
Xi Jinping last visited India in 2019 for an informal summit with Prime Minister Modi in Mamallapuram near Chennai, before India-China relations were strained by the 2020 border crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto are among the other leaders expected to attend the summit.
Diplomatic sources indicate Modi and Xi are expected to hold bilateral talks on September 12, the opening day of the leaders’ summit.
This will be the first Modi-Xi bilateral meeting in six years, coming after a prolonged period of tension following the 2020 Galwan Valley border clash.
Delhi is set to see major closures on September 11 ahead of the summit, with schools, colleges, courts and offices remaining shut in parts of the city.
The BRICS grouping, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded in recent years to include additional member nations.
This year’s summit is the 18th edition of the BRICS gathering, with India hosting the group’s leaders in New Delhi.
2026 BRICS meeting of ministers, New Delhi, PIB/Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India
